Fawlty Towers/Polly Sherman

Polly Sherman
Fawlty Towers
Actor	Connie Booth
First Appearance	1x01 - A Touch of Class
Last Appearance	2x06 - Basil the Rat
Series Billing	Series: Top Billed
Episode Count	12
Notable Episodes	1x02 - The Builders 1x03 - The Wedding Party 2x01 - Communication Problems 2x05 - The Anniversary

Polly Sherman, waitress and Girl Friday at Fawlty Towers, is played by Connie Booth, and appears in all 12 episodes of the show, achieving Top Billing in all of them.

Basic Information

Polly Sherman plays an important role, both in the world of Fawlty Towers and dramatically in the plots. Within the show, she is the glue which holds Fawlty Towers together—ostensibly the waitress, she also serves as maid, assists in the management of the hotel and its staff and protects Manuel from Basil Fawlty and Basil from both Sybil Fawlty and himself. (At least, she tries.) In the scripts, she exists as an expository device. As Basil's closest confidante and most trusted ally, she is the person to whom he explains his problems and his plans—"Horatio to Hamlet," as John Cleese calls her.

An art student in the first season, Polly is a talented but mostly unsuccessful abstract artist. Although she is more compassionate than Basil (who isn't?), she is also capable of sarcasm and even avenging herself when guests are rude, difficult or overly demanding. She is the person whom Basil and Sybil leave in charge when they take vacations or days off. She is single, but only once (in 1x03 - The Wedding Party) is she seen or referred to as having a boyfriend. In all likelihood, her work at the hotel consumes so much of her life, she has little time left over for a social life or dating.

Polly objects to Basil's dishonesty, yet she frequently conspires with him to conceal the truth. In the dysfunctional "family" that is the staff of Fawlty Towers, she is both daughter and big sister to Basil.

Memorable Moments

• 1x04 - Hotel Inspectors: Annoyed with a demanding guest, Basil Fawlty tells him to shut up. When the guest objects, Basil claims he was looking at the guest but talking to Polly. To convince the guest this is the truth, Polly and Basil have a remarkable slapstick routine in which they look at the guest while talking to one another, and at each other when talking to the guest.

• 1x05 - Gourmet Night: With the chef drunk, Polly tries to entertain the guests of the gala gourmet night while Basil rushes to replace the menu with duck from another restaurant. While the guests grow impatient, Polly sings "I Cain't Say No" a cappella.

• 2x05 - The Anniversary: When Sybil Fawlty walks out on Basil moments before guests arrive for their anniversary party, Basil bribes Polly to pose as a sick Sybil in a dark room.

Quotes

• 1x05 - Gourmet Night: He's pickled... the onions, and he's smashed... the eggs in his cups... under the table!

• 2x05 - The Anniversary: Waitress? That's a joke! I help out at reception, I clean the rooms, I deal with the tradesmen, I man the switchboard, I change the fuses, and if you think my duties now include impersonating members of your family, you have got one more screw loose than I thought!